Chaos Revolution
by Michael C Holman
Summary: In a realistic twist on the Pokémon universe, Jason, a new trainer, is mauled in his first duel and embarks on a journey to ban Pokémon battling forever. Please review!
1. Threshold

To my favorite readers: When I took you from Hogwarts to Narnia, I know you enjoyed yourselves. This may be Pokémon, and you might originally think it's silly originally, but that's the last thing it'll be to you when you finish. Like "The Other World," it's a completely new take on something, and I spent a lot of time ensuring that character is the most important factor in the story. Enjoy. Sorry I've been gone so long!

To Pokémon fans: this is going to be really different, but I hope you enjoy the quality of the literature and the time I've put into this story. This tale may shock you a little, but it's what I foresee would happen if Pokémon were real and that society were the same as in the games. This is NOT a referendum against Pokémon. I loved it as a kid and I still do. I just wanted to explore another direction. I hope you enjoy it!

Note: This occurs soon after the events in the original Red and Blue games.

Chaos Revolution

I was way too naïve. I thought the world worked the way it was supposed to work. I thought there was justice. Coherency. Not chaos.

The scars on my face prove otherwise.

Sorry to start off my narrative so bleakly, but that's the way it is. There's no other way to tell this story. It began when I was fourteen, in Pewter city, Kanto, my hometown. I had waited my whole life, just like everyone else in the entire world, to be old enough to leave town and capture a Pokémon of my own to train. I mean, who _didn't_ have one? If you didn't you were some sort of freak. And let's face it, you wouldn't be able to get from one town to the other safely.

I woke up that perfect morning, a month after my fourteenth birthday, when I was old enough and had enough money to buy a Poké ball of my own so I could be a trainer like everyone else. My parents... well, my mom's an artist and my dad works as a janitor, so they don't make very much money and…. Yeah. No allowance or anything. Most kids' parents' bought them six or seven Poké balls months in advance before their legal birthday, but not me. I had to work for my own money. I did odd jobs- mowing lawns, watching people's Ponytas so they don't burn down their house while they're gone, that sort of thing. It took me forever, but I finally scraped up enough money.

I trundled downstairs in my pajamas, passing my mom served me pancakes with a Poké ball drawn in it with chocolate syrup. We both laughed at it before I started shoveling it in. My mom has one of those faces that you know has smiled a lot, if you know what I mean. Really warm, brown eyes, and long brown hair that curls right before it stops. She was a little shorter than most people I knew, but made up for it by smiling so much you almost can't stand it. She makes a room light up, you know?

My dad who was sitting across the table, was a little different.

"So, you think you're ready?" He prodded. I paused in the act of pouring more syrup on my pancake.

"I think so," I answered. He nodded, then pulled open the newspaper, hiding his face. If you could see through the paper, he really didn't have the same kind of face as my mom. Lots of analytical lines on his forehead and nose, not very many around his eyes. He didn't smile very much. Like every morning when I saw him, he was wearing his one-piece grey janitor suit.

"What did I just hear?" Came a voice from the hallway. My brother, Eric, stumbled halfway into the kitchen, his hair shoved out towards the right side of his head from bedhead, his chest bare and his eyes bleary. He was seventeen, and was starting stand out as a trainer at the gym in town. I had never gone to the matches, mostly because you can't get in without a Pokémon at your side.

"Today's the day, then, huh?" he asked, swatting me on the shoulder. I half-grinned and punched him back.

"Yeah. Don't hit me while I'm holding a fork by my face."

"You goin' to catch one today?"

"Sure. If I can." I went back to my pancake. I'd almost finished it.

"Viridian forest?" Eric asked. Mom went to the sink and started spraying off dad's dishes.

"Jason?" Eric called.

"Mmf?" I asked, my mouth full.

"You going to Viridian forest to catch your first one?"

I swallowed the last of my pancake.

"Yeah." I got up from the table and walked out of the kitchen, heading back to my room.

"You want some help?" Eric called after me from the bathroom. I paused, then walked back and stared at him as he tamed his wild hair with a big comb in front of the mirror.

"No, I can do this myself."

"Jason, I was meaning a trade."

That stopped me.

"What did you say?"

He paused and looked at me.

"_Trade,_" he said, like he was teaching me a new word. "Bring me, oh, a Kakuna and I'll trade you a Growlithe I'm not using."

"A Growlithe? Are you serious?"

"…yeah?"

"Ha! Sure!"

We shook hands on it. I practically skipped down the hallway. This was turning out to be the perfect day.

It was Saturday, so thankfully I didn't have to sit through school. Anyway, most trainers dropped out after they turned fourteen. Not many people cared. Earning medals at gyms was much more important to people anyway. Trainers like Ash Ketchum had become household names. It was all anybody could talk about in the news, at school, anywhere, as he fought his way through the trainers at Indigo Plateau. There were only seven people in the last fifteen years that had even made it past Lorelei, the first member of the Elite Four.

I sprinted through the crowded streets of downtown Pewter, heading for the nearest shop I knew of that sold Poké balls. I had to do a lot of running _around_ people, since I was so little, but I didn't let that dampen my spirits. In my right hand I clutched a bag that had all the money I'd saved in it, and around my waist I had one of Eric's old belts with hooks for the Poké balls. Had to have some place to hang my first one, didn't I?

I waited in line for eternity in the store. It was packed with people, and stuffed full with every kind of Pokémon merchandise you could imagine – potions, expensive kinds of Poké balls that were supposed to work better, wildly expensive Pokédexes, backpacks, jackets, hats, everything.

The Poké balls were all behind glass at the counter, since you had to be fourteen to buy one. A bored-looking girl at the counter wearing a silly Pikachu hat checked my I.D. card (thank goodness I remembered to bring it), looked at me carefully, then gave me one. I took it with both hands. The ball was made of two halves, the bottom white and the top red, with a button on one end that opened it. It was heavier than I expected, and the metal was cold.

"Good luck," the girl behind the counter told me.

"Thanks," I said, and left the store.

I ran through the streets again, stuffing the Poké ball onto my belt, and dodged through people and traffic to get to the outskirts of town. I paused as I saw what I was looking for in the distance:

Viridian forest. The place where all kids from Pewter first went. It stood in the south like a green wall in the distance across the rolling hills. Most of the people my age that I knew had already been to Viridian and come out again with Pokémon at their belts. They'd made fun of me when I didn't go. I gritted my teeth, fighting back against the nervousness that was threatening to bubble over. I'd never left town before. Not on my own, anyway.

I walked for a long time towards that green wall of trees, steeling myself as they grew larger and larger. I spotted a path that led to an archway at the forest's edge, and followed it.

Without pausing in step, afraid that I might lose my nerve, I walked straight into the woods.

You know the creepy forests that're in stories, where the light doesn't shine through the top of the forest canopy, and sticks are everywhere and every noise you hear makes you want to jump ten feet in the air and scream for your mommy? Well, Viridian forest is worse. It's dark, much darker than the movies. Sure, patches of sunlight shine through and make pools of yellow across the path, but that only makes it so it's harder to see past the shadows. You're eyes never get the chance to adjust. The only un-foresty thing about it was that the path was unusually clear of twigs.

What also made my skin crawl was the sound. Bugs were singing constantly, birds chirped here and there and fluttered around, but the worst part was the rushes of noise that would suddenly blast across the path behind me and would be gone before I had the chance to see anything. Then something would whoosh to my right, and then my left. I was severely creeped out, because I knew I was being watched from every angle and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wanted to yell for them to go away, but I also knew that would only make more come.

After about a mile I stopped walking. If I went any further I would start running into trainers, and I didn't know how forgiving they'd be on a newcomer. I mean, I had a Poké ball at my belt. They'd probably challenge me, thinking there was a Pokémon inside.

_Whoosh!_

Something else moved beside me and I jumped and turned, ready to run, and slammed right into a tree.

There was a scraping noise and an irritated rattling noise, and something large and yellow fell from the sky and landed right next to me with a _thump._ I leaped backward away from it, afraid I was about to get stung to death by a horde of Weedles, then realized what had landed in front of me.

It was about two feet long, and brownish yellow. It had a rounded end, and its other came to a point. The whole thing was made of some sort of hard outer shell that layered over itself like armor. A Kakuna.

"No way," I muttered to myself. I carefully approached it, just to be sure I was right.

As soon as I got within a foot of it, the Kakuna wriggled. I froze. The armor slid

over on itself, drawing closer, tighter around itself, then went stiff as a board. I nervously laughed. That was the Kakuna's only defense. Hardening. This would be easy.

I pulled my new Poké ball off of my belt, pressed the center button, and tossed it at the Kakuna.

The complex technologies of the Poké ball made the ball twist in the air, lock towards the Kakuna, open, and with a flash of light the Kakuna disappeared. The Poké ball landed with a _thunk _on the dirt_._

I trotted over and picked up the Poké ball. This was too easy. Would catching

other Pokémon be this simple?

VVVVVVVV

When I came back home, my prize in hand, Eric was waiting for me in our front yard. He whapped me on the shoulder.

"Good work, bro. Lemme see it." Eric looked much better without bedhead. He was dressed like any other trainer – well, the current fashion was to look like Ash, with an unbuttoned jacket, jeans, and a backpack thrown over your shoulders. Eric had the whole crazy-hair thing going, so he didn't wear the traditional baseball cap. Now that it was nearing lunch he was his usual bright-eyed self as I unclipped the Poké ball from my belt and pressed the button.

There was a pop and a hiss, then a terrific flash of light and my Kakuna appeared on the ground in front of me, laying sideways, still stiff. Eric grinned and crouched next to it. He tapped its head with his finger and the Kakuna made an angry rattling noise, like a snake.

"All right, deal's a deal," He said, rising. I pressed the button on my Poké ball again and with a flash the Kakuna disappeared inside it. Eric pulled one of his many Poké balls off his belt and handed it to me. I slowly took it and wordlessly handed over my Kakuna. I stared at the new ball. I saw Eric raise his eyebrows.

"Go ahead, Jason. Let him out." An irreversible smile broadened on my face, and with a feeling of joy I pressed the button.

Brilliant white light flashed from the ball to the ground, and from it materialized a bright orange dog, about a foot high, with black stripes and a white tail. A punklike wisp of white hair curled off its forehead. It had keen, intelligent eyes that looked up at me with curiosity. It shuffled its feet for a moment, then sat down on its haunches and looked me in the eyes. I could tell from its gaze that this dog was smart. Its nose twitched and it snorted, and when it did a spurt of fire flew from its nostrils. I stared at it in wonder, and heard Eric chuckling next to me. I didn't care. The Kakuna didn't count. It was this moment that I became a Trainer.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

I didn't put my Growlithe back in its Poké ball for a week. I named him Blaze, and he followed me all around the house, never making noise unless he had to go out to go to the bathroom. He was the most intelligent-looking animal I had ever run across. He always looked me in the eye when I talked to him. The only downside was that I couldn't pet him very long or else I'd burn my hands – he was hot to the touch. His body temperature must have been twice what mine is.

Eric thought I was weird at first, for not keeping him in my Poké ball. When he found out I had named him, he thought I was crazy.

"It's a Growlithe," he protested. "You don't name it."

"_Him_, not _it_," I corrected as I did my useless math homework on the couch (who needs homework when you're going to drop out, right?). Blaze was lying right next to me. I absent-mindedly scratched his ears and he sat his head up on my leg, wagging his long-haired tail briefly.

"Whatever," Eric conceded. "You know, if you care about it that much you're not gonna be able to fight it very well."

VVVVVVVVV

That night I had an argument with my dad at dinner.

"I don't understand. I'm ready to be a trainer! Why does it matter if I stay in school?"

"And what happens if you wash out?" Dad shot back. "You come back home with a middle-school education. You think there's any way you'll get a decent job?" Dad really looked angry. He'd been just like this right when Eric dropped out. Everyone's chicken and rice had been forgotten.

"Dad, just let I go!" Eric jumped in. I looked at him askance, surprised. He'd never really stuck up for me before now. Dad's face turned red and he rounded on him.

"Eric, we all know you got lucky. You got noticed by some sponsors. But who says Jason will?"

Mom and I were looking back and forth between Dad and Eric. Mom's smiling face was gone, replaced by a nervous, going-to-cry-if-this-gets-any-worse face. I was confused. Suddenly this had become a fight between the two of them, and Dad was much angrier than he should have been.

"Who says Jason won't?" Eric countered fiercely. "Just because _you_ failed as a trainer and had to spend your life cleaning toilets doesn't mean the rest of the world-"

"Eric!" Mom shouted.

"Get out!" Dad yelled.

Everyone froze.

"Honey, don't-" Mom tried to interrupt, her voice shaky.

"Wait, you were a trainer?" I asked Dad. It was like he couldn't hear me.

"Eric, get out. If you think it's so easy, try being a trainer without free food and a free house."

Eric stared.

"You're kicking me out?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"No!" Mom cried, bursting into tears.

"Come back when you realize the world isn't as nice as TV makes it out to be," Dad spat.

Everyone went quiet. Eric and Dad stared each other down.

"Fine," Eric muttered. He threw down his fork, got up from the table, and stormed out of the kitchen toward his room.

We were all silent for a long time. I could hear Eric rustling around in his room. Then I heard his feet hit the hallway floor. He passed by the kitchen door, dressed in his trainer jacket, his backpack, and his belt.

"Bye," he called, and went out the door, slamming it behind him.

"Eric!" I called, jumping up from the table and running out after him.

Eric was jogging away from the house down the sidewalk, towards the city. The sun was almost set, casting the houses, trees, and lawns in a warm red and yellow glow. It was completely opposite of what I felt. Everything was falling apart.

"Eric!" I shouted. He slowed down and turned.

"What?"

I ran up to him, my breathing heavy.

"Can I come with you?" I asked. Eric laughed bitterly.

"You know you'd never make it with me. You don't even know what your Growlithe can do yet."

"So teach me," I pressed. "I'm _going_ to be a trainer. Might as well start now." Eric shook his head.

"There's only one way I can get big enough sponsors to live on."

I nodded.

"You're going to make a move for the Elite Four, at Indigo Plateau."

"You know what that means, right?" He asked me seriously. "Going all around the country, beating all of the gym masters one after another."

"Nobody's done it in ten years," I said.

"You'd leave home to help me?" Eric wondered.

"Let me get Blaze," I answered.

VVVVVVVV

I snuck back inside, grabbed Blaze, packed up a backpack full of clothes, and left before mom and dad even knew I'd been there. I could hear her crying in the kitchen. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to sneak out again. Blaze, thankfully, was his usual, silent self at my side. Eric met us at the end of the block, and together we left toward the skyscrapers of downtown Pewter.

When we got into the heart of the city Eric made me put Blaze back in his Poké ball.

"He's too small. We'll lose him in the city." I knew he was right. I apologized to Blaze, then with a flash of light I sucked him into the Poké ball and put it on my belt. The sun had set by this time, but the billboards, street lights, cars, and skyscrapers were so bright it didn't matter. Using some spare money he had in his wallet, Eric bought us some food. We stuffed it into our backpacks, then headed south out of Pewter to the forest.

"Why Viridian forest?" I asked nervously as we left the city behind and began crossing grassy hills. The wall of trees in the distance looked a lot scarier at night. The moonlight shone off the top of the tree canopy and made such deep shadows by the trunks it practically screamed 'don't go in here!'

"It's the fastest way to Viridian city. I've already beaten Brock, so looks like Giovanni's next. He's the closest one, anyway."

"Isn't he the leader of Team Rocket?"

"Yeah."

"How're you gonna beat him?" I asked. Eric shook his head.

"Luck, mostly. I think I have the right combination to win."

Soon we reached the forest. I paused at the edge of the trees, afraid of the pitch darkness we were about to step into. Eric walked past me into it, then turned and looked back at me with a frown.

"What?"

"I-… what about the wild Pokémon in there?"

Eric waved my question off.

"Don't worry. I've been here a dozen times. I can take out anything in here. Now, are you coming or going back home?"

Not entirely sure I believed him, I followed Eric into the darkness.

We hadn't gone thirty feet before something _whoosh_ed past off to our right. Eric stopped and put a hand to his belt. I ran into him .

"Get off. What was that?" He lightly shoved me back and stared into the trees.

"I heard that when I was here last week," I murmured. "It's how I found your Kakuna." Eric glanced at me with a raised eyebrow.

_Whoosh_. It moved across the path to our left. We both whirled to find nothing there.

"We need to move," Eric decided.

"What's going on?" I whispered.

"I've never heard anything like that in here, but it sounds like we're being hunted and I don't like it."

"Hunted?" I repeated, my voice shaky.

"Let's keep walking. Maybe it'll leave us-"

_Vmmm._

A noise like wings buzzed in front of us and suddenly something appeared in the shadows on the path ahead. We both stopped. Eric put his arm back to shield me. He flicked his arm and there was a pop and a flash of white light that completely blinded me.

"Flash," I heard Eric command. When I opened my eyes the whole area was lit up. A two foot tall orange and black mouse with large pointed ears was standing in front of Eric, its face and tail crackling with electricity and lighting up the space. A Raichu.

Twenty feet away was what I could only describe as an enormous bug with blades instead of arms. It was bright green and armored, with a triangular head and large, sharp-looking hooks for forelegs. The only un-buglike thing about it was its eyes, which had pupils and irises just like us. It was looking directly at us. Its wings flicked and buzzed for a moment.

"A Scyther!" Eric exclaimed. He sounded shocked. "They're not supposed to be in here!"

"That's because he's not from these parts."

Both of us jumped at the sound of a new voice. The Scyther moved to the side, still staring at us, and a kid around Eric's age walked into the pool of light being cast by Erik's Raichu. Eric visibly relaxed.

"You're out late," he commented.

"_We're_ out late," came another voice. I jumped and turned. Another trainer stepped out of the shadows behind me. The path was blocked both ways.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a double duel," the Scyther trainer said with a chuckle. He was wearing a black hoodie with a torn decal of a skull on the front of it. The other trainer was wearing a long black coat and had black hair, but I couldn't tell anything else about him.

"Look, you can fight me, all right?" Eric said, "but my brother's not ready to yet. He's with me. He just got his first Pokémon last week."

"That's not the way it works," the second trainer murmured. I stared at him wide-eyed. I was about to have my first duel, and I hadn't even trained Blaze yet. I didn't like this at all. I got back to back with Eric. My heart rate was rising out of control, making my fingers shake. I pulled my single Poké ball off my belt. The trainer in front of me smiled.

"I like first timers," he said quietly. "Easy wins."

"You wanna fight?" Eric yelled. The other trainer laughed. The Scyther made a noise that scared me to death – a deep, rattling hiss. The trainer in front of me tossed a Poké ball, blinded me with a flash of white, and a big round, mostly brown monster with sharp spines spiking up all over its back, a face of a rat with round eyes, and enormous claws sprouting from its paws. A Sandslash. It hissed at me and got into a crouch, waiting. I felt Eric stiffen behind me.

"Fine," he growled. "Cut Flash."

The forest went black.

_BOOM!_ A blast of light brighter than anything I'd ever seen flew across the clearing and thunder slammed into my eardrums. Lightning flashed, lighting everything, then sent us into darkness over and over. I saw the other trainer's Pokémon slowly beginning to waddle towards me by the flashes. I heard Eric and the other trainer shouting and the Scyther roaring as the Pokémon jumped around and fought behind us. I panicked and pressed the button on my Poké ball.

Light flashed and Blaze appeared.

The Sandslash tackled Blaze and disappeared into the darkness.

"Blaze! Do…something!" I heard the tearing, ripping sound of two animals fighting and rolling around in the leaves. Blaze screamed.

"Fire!" I shouted, hoping it react. At once Blaze and the Sandslash were revealed, red fire bursting from Blaze's mouth like a flamethrower and lighting up the leaves and twigs. The Sandslash bristled up and jumped out of the way, curling up and rolling away like a spiky basketball. Lighting blinded us again and then Blaze disappeared. He was out of fire.

"Fury swipes!" The trainer shouted over the sound of the lightning.

Blaze screamed again.

Time seemed to slow as the Raichu's lightning lit the scene. The Sandslash pounced on Blaze and started tearing into him with his claws. The two rolled one over the other, Blaze squealing. The Sandslash jerked, then Blaze cried out and then fell silent and still.

Darkness returned.

"You lose."

I screamed as spines and claws slammed into my face and tore through the skin on my left cheek. I fell backwards. The Sandslash jabbered in my ear as it bit and scratched me. Someone yelled, and suddenly the Sandslash flew off of me with a screech. I briefly saw Eric's sneaker. He had kicked it off.

I was crying. Something liquid and hot was running down my face. Then I realized it was my blood.

"Eric!" I shouted. Lighting flashed. He was kneeling over me.

"What'd you kick him for?" The other trainer shouted.

"Shut up!" Eric jumped up and punched. I heard it connect. Eric reached for his belt, then there was a flash and an enormous snake appeared on my right. An Arbok. Its hood flashed open and it coiled up, rattling and hissing, facing the other trainer.

"That's against the rules!" The trainer shouted.

"Stop or I'll have it bite you!" Lightning flashed and I saw Eric whip his head towards it. "Thunder wave!"

My hair stood on end as a surge of electricity powered through the air and lit the trees with purple light. The Scyther screamed. Eric grabbed another Poké ball off his belt and threw it. Light flashed and a squat, hairy monkey with huge fists and feet appeared right in front of the trainer.

"H-hey. You can't attack other trainers unless you beat their Pokémon first!"

"Go suck on it!" Eric yelled. I was about to pass out, my heart rate was going so fast. I felt like we were going to die at any moment.

"I'm reporting you! You'll never get into another gym!"

"Try it!" Eric shouted back. The Arbok rattled and hissed again.

"Eric….Blaze," I managed. He glanced at me for a moment, then looked back and forth between the other trainers. I heard the Raichu squeak and a random burst of electricity flashed across the pathway.

"Withdraw your Pokémon and let us go, or I'll have you pounded to a pulp-" He pointed to the Scyther trainer, "- and I'll have you bitten and poisoned. You'll be lucky to get to a hospital alive."

There was a long moment where only the Pokémon made noises. Then there were two pops and flashes.

Three followed shortly after.

"You'll pay for this," Someone said. I slowly pulled myself to my feet. My legs were weak. After so much lightning, I could barely see for the burns across my vision. Eric grabbed my arm and helped me stand. I held my hands over my face. They were wet. It felt like my cheek was on fire.

"Find someone who cares. Jason? Where's your Growlithe?"

"H-he's…" I pointed to where I thought he might be. Eric walked over, and suddenly he cursed.

"What did you do? He's dying!"

"What?" I yelled. The darkness was starting to fade. I could see the trainer I had fought in the blackness. He looked panicked. Eric waved over to me.

"Give me your Poké ball!" I handed it over without question. He took it, pressed the button, and Blaze disappeared.

"Why'd you put him in there?" I asked. Tears were starting to stream down my face again.

"It'll slow the process down until we can get both of you to the hospital. I think we can save it there. Come on." He grabbed my arm and shoved past the trainer. I didn't look back.

We walked as fast as we could for what seemed like hours until we burst into the moonlight and the forest came to an end. Eric told me to keep my hand pressed on my face and we ran across the hills, back towards the skyscrapers.

Half an hour later I sat in a hospital, my face full of anesthetic as a nurse stitched my wounds closed. She told me after she was done that I would have very large scars, and it couldn't be helped.

Blaze was much worse than me. He had multiple lacerations – at least that's what they called it – and the Sandslash had impaled him in the stomach. They had to operate on him as soon as we came in.

After the surgery they let me see him. The surgeon told me Blaze had about a fifty-fifty chance of survival. Then they left me alone. The whole room was white, and filled with empty tables. Blaze was lying on his side, bandages over his stomach and huge black, pointy stitches drawing lines where he had been slashed. I knew he looked like me. I had looked at myself in a mirror since I'd been stitched up. IVs ran in tubes from Blaze's forepaws. The heart monitor flicked up and down next to the bed, but made no noise. No beeping to fill the deafening silence.

What kind of world did I live in where this could happen? What kind of world would _support_ this with every fiber of its culture? A world where you can't walk from one town to another without getting mauled. A world without justice. A world without coherency.

A world of chaos.

VVVVVVVVV

This is the first chapter in a planned series, so put me on your author alert list!

Let me know what you think! Please review!


	2. Firehound of Legend

Sorry it's been so long! Got caught up with college stuff. Anyway, here's the second chapter.

Review when you read, please! It'll keep me motivated to write more!

VVVVVVVV

I never left.

My parents both came to the hospital immediately after the doctors got Blaze stabilized. That's when Eric finally had a chance to call them, anyway. Mom and dad were at the hospital in five seconds and mom flipped out over my running away, then flipped out over my torn up face. Just flipped out in general. Dad stood off to the side while she fretted over me, but when she finally calmed down, he came over and said: "I'm sorry about your Growlithe."

Mom demanded that I come home that instant, but dad stopped her. I guess he knew I would want to stay.

Everything became a haze. That day, that week. I stayed at the hospital the entire time, only leaving Blaze's side to sleep out in the hallway. The nurse in charge, a woman with long blond, wavy hair and wearing a white lab coat, would give me an update every time she would look in on him. He appeared to be getting better, but still couldn't be off of life support. I felt so tired. I knew I had shadows under my eyes from not sleeping well. Every night the Sandslash would attack me again and again, opening the wounds up afresh with new strikes. Sometimes I was tied up and forced to watch as it mauled Blaze instead.

After a couple more days they removed my stitches. I grimaced as I looked at myself in the mirror. Vertical and horizontal red lines crisscrossed each other on my left cheek and forehead like some demented psycho had played tic-tac-toe on my face. I gritted my teeth when I felt the scars. I had almost lost my left eye.

On my fifth day there the police showed up.

I was waiting in the… waiting room with Eric, who had come to see how I was doing, I guess, when I saw them enter. Everybody in the room stopped what they were doing and looked up from their magazines. Even the lady at the front desk stopped typing at her computer to stare.

There were three men in total. Two were dressed in black and carried guns, batons, and a couple Poké balls at their belts – policemen – and the third one wore a sharp grey suit with a red tie, his hair slicked back close on his skull like some flat, wiry hat. He carried a clipboard with him.

After a short pause in the foyer they spotted Eric and me and immediately strode over to us.

"Eric Brody?" The man in the suit asked.

Eric frowned and looked up at him with only his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I'm from the Pokémon League. I've come about an incident reported four nights ago."

"What about it?"

"You have been charged with three violations of League rules."

Eric slowly rose to his feet and looked the man in the eye. The two policemen spread their stances and their hands drifted to their belts, like they were getting ready to fight.

"Who's charging me?" Eric demanded. The man looked down at his clipboard and continued.

"You're charged with one count of using more than one Pokémon at once, one count of intervening in another trainer's duel, and…" The man raised his eyebrows and looked up from his clipboard. "Two counts of assault."

"_Assault?_" Eric yelled, jumping forward to grab him. The policemen jumped in the way and held him back. The League officer stumbled backwards, his neat tie and glasses knocked all askew.

"Kid, step back," the policeman on the right said, his hand pushing against Eric's chest. I looked back and forth between Eric and the men. Eric's face was red – that was never a good sign. That only happened when he was about to break something.

"What about the _assault_ on my brother?" Eric shouted, struggling to get past the policeman, who wouldn't let him budge. "Look at his face!" Eric pointed at me. The man fixed his glasses, looking flustered, but looked closer at me and my scarred face.

"What did this?" He asked. Eric gave up trying to fight through the policemen.

"A Sandslash mauled him that night," Eric said heatedly, jerking his jacket back into place.

"Under what circumstances?"

"The Sandslash cut up his untrained Growlithe, then jumped on him." The man's eyes narrowed, but then he shrugged.

"It happens. It's part of the risk."

I stared.

"Wait, this is _legal?_" I asked, pointing to my scars and standing up. That had to be a joke.

"Not in this context," Eric growled. "The two of them jumped us in the forest and, knowing full well that Jason was traveling with me and hadn't trained at all yet, challenged both of us. I was winning against the other trainer's Scyther, but then the other trainer had the Sandslash attack Jason. I kicked it off of him, threw out my Primeape and my Arbok to defend the both of us, and ended the fight."

"The Sandslash almost killed Bla- …my Growlithe!"

The man's eyes narrowed at that.

"Let me see it."

Eric and I led the way to the ICU. He examined Blaze for a second, then asked the nurse about his condition.

"Multiple lacerations, and a deep impaling in its abdomen," she answered.

The man nodded, then turned to me."

"That trainer will be fined and temporarily suspended for excessive violence against your Growlithe," He said with a nod.

"But not for my face?"

"No." He turned to Eric. "You, however, will be banned permanently from all duels."

Eric turned white.

"No….seriously…."

"Turn over your Pokémon to these officers, and your assault charges will be dropped."

"I- But- that's not fair!" Eric protested

"Yeah!" I agreed.

"Please stay out of this," The man growled at me.

"Look, even if I am kicked out of the league, you can't just take my Pokémon from me! They're mine! I bought, caught, and traded for them!"

The man shook his head, a small smirk appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Not in this case. Since you committed a crime-"

"What if I gave them to my brother?" Eric blurted. I stared. Eric's eyes were wide and his mouth was shaking. Everything that made him who he was was being taken away.

The man with the clipboard raised an eyebrow, taken aback by Eric's idea.

"…that would be permissible."

"Fine." One tear dropped from Eric's eye as he unstrapped his belt. He turned and held it out to me, letting it rest in both of his hands.

"Jason….these are now yours. Forever." I took the belt from him, in awe. I couldn't understand – how was this happening?

Eric swallowed, then turned back to the man with the clipboard and the two policemen.

"That good enough for you?" He demanded.

The man nodded, and the three turned and left, walking three abreast down the hallway out of sight.

Immediately I held the belt out.

"Here. Take it back."

"No," Eric murmured, his voice cracking as he stared after the three men. "My face is on their wanted posters. If I'm ever caught dueling again I'll end up in jail." He turned to me, his eyes watery with unshed tears, and put his hands on my shoulders.

"You have to do this now. For me and for yourself. You have to be the trainer."

VVVVVVVVV

No.

That was my answer. No.

There was no way I was training Pokémon to do anything other than sit or shake my

hand.

"You expect me to even _think_ about doing that after this?" I pointed to my scars.

"That's the way the world is, Jason. You may not like it, but it's the truth."

We were in the ICU, standing next to Blaze's bed. Lucky the nurse wasn't in there or else she'd have thrown us out.

"I don't believe that's the truth," I argued. "I would have seen it."

"You sure?" Eric asked. He folded his arms. "Take out one of my Pokémon. And not the Kakuna."

I glared at him, but lifted the belt and grabbed a ball at random. I tossed it in a corner.

A white light flashed, and Eric's Raichu appeared. It wasn't mine yet. I didn't

believe that.

The Raichu looked up at me, confused. But I wasn't paying attention. See, I had only seen this Raichu in the dark of the forest that night, and by the stark light of the lightning.

White scars covered its right side, interrupting the fur and making it look unkempt. It was missing a finger from its right paw. A chunk had been bitten out of its left ear.

"Take out my Arbok. That one there," Eric said dully, pointing. I obliged and tossed that Poké ball as well. In a flash of white My – no, Eric's enormous violet cobra sat coiled in the room, looking directly at me – with only one eye. A scar covered the right side of its face and its right eye was gone. The flesh had been sewn over it, and the scales were missing, leaving only light purple flesh. Its tongue flicked out at me, tasting the air and watching me with interest.

Again and again I tossed the balls from Eric's belt. Primeape, Persian, Parasect. The Persian was missing half its tail and a piece of its ear. The Primeape was scarred with scratches, some of them new. The Parasect was missing an entire claw.

"This is what Training is," Eric said quietly behind me. "This is our world." I turned back to him, new tears in my eyes.

"I refuse."

I put all the Pokémon back in their balls, attached them to my new belt, and sat by Blaze. Eric eventually left. The next morning the hospital cleared Blaze to leave, and we checked out. Blaze had nerve and tendon damage in his left foreleg, which made it stiffly straight. He would never run again.

VVVVVVVV

For a while Eric didn't believe me. But he lost hope after a couple of weeks. There was no way I was changing my mind about this.

Both of us went back home. Eric re-enrolled in school. Thankfully they let him start as a freshman at the high school, instead of being back in the middle school. Heck, he was already old for his new grade.

When I went back to school again all I got was stares. I didn't bother talking to anyone about my face, or what had happened that night, and nobody asked me. I kept my head down and kept quiet, letting them whisper about me as I walked by.

When I was at home and not doing my homework, I would go in the backyard, let my new Pokémon out – yes, I'd finally accepted that they were mine – and got to know them one by one. I always had blaze out, of course. He sat next to me, watching the whole time; but it was my goal to know all of my Pokémon as well as I knew him.

The Raichu was easy – it was like a too-big Pikachu with a little more control, so it was very cheerful and happy. I made friends with it in the first few seconds. Same thing with the Persian. It's basically a giant cat, so scratch it in the right spots and it's your friend. The Primeape was a bit more difficult, since its first reaction to every new situation was anger, but after I got it calm it accepted me. The Parasect was nearly impossible to be friends with, and after a few minutes I just gave up. Try being friends with an ant, and that's about what it was like; that is if the ant you picked is two feet tall and three feet wide.

The hardest was the Arbok. When it held its head high it was six feet tall, two feet higher than me. Try making eye contact with that, even if its hood isn't out.

We just stared at each other for a long time – well, I stared into its one eye and it stared back into mine. With one bite this thing could kill me before I could even call for help. But deep down I knew I could show no weakness. Instead I reached out and touched it on the nose.

The Arbok didn't respond. I guess that was as good a sign of friendship as any. I put it back in its Poké ball.

"What…exactly are you doing?" I turned back toward the house. Eric was standing by the back door, watching me. Blaze got to his feet next to me, stumbling a little.

"Nothing," I answered Eric.

"You were trying to make friends with that snake, weren't you?"

"I-"

"You make no sense, you know that?" Eric walked out to me. He had lost something that day in the hospital. A piece of his personality had fallen away. His eyes lacked their normal spark.

He stopped in front of me. A breath of wind ruffled his crazy hair.

"Look, I… feel bad."

"Well yeah," I chuckled. "If you didn't I'd think there was something wrong with you."

"That's not it," he snapped. Then his face softened.

"I just… here." He held out his hand. In his palm was a red stone with rivers of yellow sediment running through it like cobwebs.

"Is that-"

"Yeah." I took it from his hand. It was warm. Blaze hopped up and put his front paws on my leg, trying to see what I was holding.

"Fire stone?" I asked. Eric put his hands in his pockets.

"Yep," he said, looking away.

"You want me to-"

"It'll heal his leg," Eric told me. "He'll still have the scars, but at least he'll be able to run."

"Thanks," I murmured. I knelt down to Blaze and held out the stone to him. He smelled it for a little while, his eyes wide with interest, then eventually sat down again, watching me. Eric turned and started walking back toward the house.

"I'll give it back when he's done, all right?" I called. Eric looked back and gave a sad laugh.

"Keep it. What'm I gonna use it for?"

He disappeared into the house and the door clunked shut.

I made Blaze lay down and set the fire stone on top of his flank, then waited. The fire stone emitted some kind of radiation, I knew, that affected certain Pokémon and made them change.

For a few minutes nothing happened. Blaze was content just to lay there while I waited. Then something started happening with his fur. It rippled like it was made of water. His head started swelling up and his shoulders popped. His forelegs crunched as they extended. His rear legs crackled and grew longer. Long white hair sprouted from his head and neck into a wild, fiery mane. His tail hair lengthened like a whip into a sweeping brush. Muscle rippled and swelled under his skin, his limbs thickening, becoming more powerful and strong. He grew before me, bones crunching, muscles swelling, skull adjusting, until he was bigger than me. Then twice as big.

Then the changes stopped.

Blaze opened his eyes. They were orange, and glowed like fire. His mane and tail were white, and fur sprouted in great tufts from his enormous paws. He rolled onto his stomach, letting the fire stone drop to the grass, and looked to face me. Even as we were both sitting, he was taller than me. I slowly got to my feet, staring at him in awe. I had never seen a creature like this. Nothing so magnificent and powerful.

"Blaze? Stand up."

Blaze slowly got to his feet. I gaped as his head rose up over mine. And kept going.

He was six feet tall. As tall as the Arbok. And at least seven feet long. He looked down on me with proud, regal eyes. Behind those eyes I could just barely see my Growlithe.

"Blaze?" I asked again. I raised a hand. His mane ruffled in the breeze. He made a huffing sound in his throat and lowered his head. He touched his forehead to my palm. I only held it there for a moment – his mane was like a hot stove.

I recovered after a second and laughed.

"I don't think you'll be able to come inside anymore."

VVVVVVVV

Thanks so much for reading. Review, please! It'll make me write faster!


	3. Banner

Chapter III

"Pikachus! Pikachus for sale here!"

"Get your Poké balls here! Best price!"

"Hey little mister, can I interest you in-"

"Get away from me."

I shoved past the man. I was in what some people might call the 'seedier' version of the town, where a sort of marketplace had been set up. Stalls had been set up in rows, selling cheaper, discounted supplies and Pokémon themselves. Skyscrapers towered up behind me, signaling the direction of downtown. The market was crowded with vendors, and not very many customers. That's why they were practically jumping on me.

Twenty feet away I spotted a small stall with green, peeling paint. Cages with all kinds of bug Pokémon were stacked one on top of the other next to it like a wire wall. Behind the stall stood a wiry, slightly dirty man wearing overalls. I walked up to the stall and planted my feet. With all these trainers nearby I kept an instinctive hand on the Poké ball containing Blaze. One flick of my wrist and I have at my side a six foot tall hound that could turn this whole city into a blazing inferno.

It made me more comfortable than I normally would, but not much.

"What can I do for ya?" The man at the stall asked. He leered at me, exposing his

brown teeth.

"…I was wondering if I could sell my Parasect," I answered. The man's eyes jumped.

"Parasect? That's a pretty good bug! But…" He leaned down on the counter.

"What's its condition?"

"A little beat up," I answered. This guy was making me nervous. So instead of talking about it I just took out the Poké ball and let the Parasect out.

In a flash of white the giant mushroom-capped bug was sitting on the counter.

"Hmm! Not bad, not bad," the man said. He put his thumbs behind the straps of his overalls.

"I'll give you forty," He finally stated.

"Seventy."

"Fifty-five."

"Done."

The man pulled five tens out of his dirty pocket and handed them to me. I nodded and turned away.

"Hey! Doncha wanna buy somethin'?"

I ignored him and walked back through the market, to a deafening chorus of

vendors shouting at me as I passed.

"Fire Pokémon here! Growlithes, Vulpixes?"

"Get your discount Poké balls here!"

"Personal defense weapons! Whack that perv before he jumps ya!"

I stopped. I hadn't heard that when I first came in.

It had come from a simple stall on my left. Behind the counter was a man in black shirt and pants, and behind him were all sorts of weapon-y looking things on racks. I don't know what all of them were, I'd never paid attention to those kinds of things before. When I walked up to him the man raised an eyebrow at me.

"You worried 'bout pervs son? Well I guess you're young enough-"

"No, that's not what I'm here for," I answered. "I'm needing something to help me so this-" I pointed to my face, "doesn't happen again." The man's eyes widened as he saw me clearly.

"Ah. Yeah. Well," He turned to look at his wares. "Are you lookin' for somethin' that'll kill 'em, or-"

"No," I cut him off with a shiver. The last thing I wanted was to end up cutting something open. I'd seen enough blood. "I just need something that I can knock them back with. But I need to be able to carry it with me all the time, too."

The man chuckled.

"Well then, all you need is this:" He plucked something from the back wall and handed it to me. I took it from him and looked at it. It was just a black cylinder, about six inches long.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Press that button, there."

I pressed the small button on the cylinder, and suddenly the end of it popped out. In a millisecond a rod two and a half feet long telescoped out of the end of it and I found myself holding a baton.

"Perfect for your sitch-e-ation," The man continued. "Folds right up into a six inch long handle, easily fits in your pocket, and with one good whack-"

"I'll take it."

VVVVVVVV

When I got home I went to the backyard and released Blaze from his Poké ball. He shook himself, then looked at me with those intense eyes. I still couldn't believe how big he was, how magnificent.

"Hey buddy," I murmured. I sat down on the grass. With a rumble he lay down next to me. I turned and leaned back against his enormous flank, carefully avoiding his mane. His orange and black fur was comfortably warm, but his mane would burn your fingers if you left them there too long.

For hours we just lay there. I watched the clouds, trying to forget. I touched a hand to my face and felt the scars, something deep inside screaming against them, trying to summon some unknown power to erase the lines for good.

I dropped my hand and closed my eyes, trying not to cry. Crying did nothing. It wasn't my fault, I kept telling myself.

And yet, it was. It was my fault that Eric had gotten banned, his Pokémon taken away from him. If I hadn't gone away with him it would have been one on two, and then those two jerks would've been the ones in trouble, not us.

"Hey."

I opened my eyes. Eric was standing over me, his face upside-down to my view.

"Hey."

"You know, you've been out here a long time."

"Yeah."

"Don't you wanna come in?"

I turned and scratched Blaze under his chin.

"No."

Eric walked around us and crouched by Blaze's head.

"I still can't believe how big this guy is," Eric said, giving Blaze a scratch behind his ear. Blaze opened his mouth and gave Eric an enormous doggy smile, breathing relaxedly.

"You're afraid," Eric said quietly. I frowned and looked at him.

"What?"

"That's why you won't do it. You're afraid."

I gritted my teeth and sat up.

"Wouldn't you be?"

"Hell yeah," Eric said with a nod. "But you're missing out on life. Are you going to sit out here with your Arcanine-" I shot him a look. "- fine. With Blaze for the rest of your life?"

"I'll do whatever I want," I snapped, laying back on Blaze's side again. Eric stood up again.

"You know, if you don't train with him he'll eventually get fat," he said. "Jason, you listening to me?"

"Yeah," I lied, closing my eyes.

"Open your eyes then." I grunted and did.

"You like being afraid all the time?"

I didn't answer.

"You're going to be afraid forever if you don't go back there."

"Back where?" I growled.

"You know where I mean."

"No. I won't."

"For crying out loud!" Eric yelled, throwing up his hands. "You have a frickin' Arcanine! You could burn that whole forest down!"

"_He_ could."

We were quiet for a moment.

"We both know that the only thing that will fix your fear is being in another duel. You just have to go and do it."

Eric left. But the truth in his words wouldn't leave me alone at all.

VVVVVVVVV

At one in the morning I left my house.

I know, I'm completely crazy. But what Eric had said had bothered me all through the evening and all through the night. I hadn't slept a wink. And in the end I knew he was right: I had to face this.

But even as I walked I would spasm suddenly, thinking I saw a creature jumping at my face out of the dark.

I was wearing a trainer's coat and jeans, my belt wrapped around my waist. I had hooked Blaze's ball right where my right hand hung, so I could grab it in a millisecond.

I walked south through the dark streets, the overhanging streetlights only casting barely sufficient pools of light to see by. Everything was quiet except for the leaves of the trees here and there as a stray wind ruffled them.

When I exited the town a full moon awaited me, casting everything in silver. But I was focused only on the amorphous shapes of the forest in the distance as I walked, willing myself forward even as my heart rate rose higher and higher.

It was beating a drumroll on my chest when I reached the forest's threshold. I forced myself to step onto the path into the black.

Not even the moon lit anything in here, like before. I waited for my eyes to adjust, and after a while I could see well enough to walk. I slipped my hand into my pocket and gripped the handle of my extendable baton. I liked the way it felt in my hands. It made me feel more powerful, knowing I had a weapon.

I kept walking.

And walking.

Then-

"Hey little buddy."

I froze.

Up ahead was a shape. A figure.

And on his chest was a white skull.

"What're you doin' out here again?"

"You some kind of creep?" I wondered, my voice shaky. "Waiting out here all the time?"

"How's your face?"

"How's your suspension?" I snapped back. The kid laughed.

"You talkin' about my three day suspension? It was a nice vacation."

I stared.

"Three days?" I murmured.

"Let's get to it, then."

My mouth went dry.

The kid flicked his wrist and there was a flash. When my eyes cleared I recognized the shape of a Sandslash on the ground, waddling towards me.

Terror gripped my throat.

I flicked my wrist.

In a flash of lighting Blaze appeared in front of me. A towering hound of fire.

"Wha- what's that?" The kid stammered.

I grinned, my fear gone.

"What that little Growlithe turned into," I called across the gap. Blaze crouched

and growled. His mane and tail lit up in trails of fire, lighting the trees. I backed off a little as a wave of heat hit me in the face.

I couldn't even see the creep that I was about to fight. But I heard him shout,

"Fury swipes!"

I heard that horrible chatter as the Sandlash undoubtedly scrabbled forward to fight.

Blaze snarled, opened his mouth, and breathed fire. The whole forest lit up with his power and the Sandslash was wrapped in flames.

"No! Hey, stop!" I heard the trainer over the wind of the flames.

"Blaze?" I said quietly. Immediately he closed his mouth. The Sandslash lay smoking on the ground, most of its quills burned to the nubs, black and charred. It wasn't moving.

The trainer came into my view, crouching at the Sandslash's side.

"You jerk!" He shouted. He reached for his belt. I whipped my baton out of my pocket and pressed the button as I leaped forward. The baton shot out to its full length right as I got to him. I smacked the trainer in the head with everything I had. He fell. I hit him again.

Again.

Again.

Each time a heavy crack echoed.

I stood up and got away from him, my breathing heavy, sweat running down my face from the heat of Blaze's fire and my stress. I looked back. Blaze was standing tall, watching me, the hair on his back sticking up.

I looked back at the trainer, then reached down and pulled the hoodie back from his head. My first hit had broken the skin on his forehead and it was turning purple. There wasn't much blood, though, just a trickle. He wouldn't die or anything.

I looked down and noticed he was wearing leather gloves. I took them without thinking and put them on. I turned back to Blaze, closing up my baton and putting it in my pocket, then pulling on the gloves. I was too full of adrenaline tonight, and I didn't want to walk back alone.

With the safety of the gloves on my hands, I got on Blaze's back, wound them through his hot mane, and rode him back to Pewter, the wind in our faces, an orange aura shimmering from him as his fur rippled behind us like a banner.

I was free.

We were free.

Maybe this was an end.

Maybe it was a beginning.


End file.
